In recent times plastic hand guns and small caliber, high pressure rifles are in some cases a viable alternative to the more traditional metal guns, the chief advantages of plastic guns being their low cost and light weight. However, the barrels of such guns can withstand only a limited number of firings before barrel wear renders the gun essentially useless. Additionally, the typical lack of longitudinal barrel stiffness limits the range and accuracy of such guns.
My invention is a composite, nonmetallic gun barrel which addresses the above problems. My gun barrel includes a tubular exterior and includes a hard inner liner to improve the wear resistance and longitudinal rigidity of the barrel. The liner is divided axially and circumferentially into liner segments to allow local elastic deformation of the barrel as a projectile is fired therethrough. The segments define spiralled channels and ridges for imparting spin to the projectile. Radial gaps between the segments contain elastomeric bodies that seal with a passing projectile to prevent escape of propellant gasses forward past the projectile.